By-polls win boosts Modi's chances of heading LS campaign

Already a front-runner, Chief Minister Narendra Modi's chances of being appointed the head of the BJP's campaign committee in the next Lok Sabha elections brightened today with the sweep in the by-polls in Gujarat.
Modi, who was here to attend a chief ministers' conference, met BJP President Rajnath Singh as election results poured in of the party wresting the two Lok Sabha and four Assembly seats from Congress in Gujarat.
The two leaders discussed the forthcoming national executive meeting in Goa and the proposal for setting up a campaign committee. Modi followed it up with a meeting with senior party leader L K Advani who was said to have had reservations about the Chief Minister being projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate.

Advani had earlier phoned him to congratulate him on the party's impressive show in the by-elections.
Party sources indicated that the national executive may discuss the issue of making Modi the head of the campaign committee and an announcement to this effect is likely.
There is a growing clamour among the cadre and vast sections of BJP leadership for making Modi the head of the committee.

The top leadership is said to be mulling over whether two committees- an election management committee for the forthcoming assembly polls in five states and a campaign committee for the Lok Sabha polls- should be formed or a single panel be constituted for both.

Modi has already sounded the poll bugle when he said the by-elections results were an ultimatum and message to the Congress to pack up and go in the next Lok Sabha elections.
He said the results were an indication of the people's anger against the Congress-led UPA at the Centre.